Review: MC Frontalot’s Zero Day Is Catchy, Nerdy

Toward the end of my first listen to “Charisma Potion,” the second track off MC Frontalot’s new record Zero Day, I started wondering whether the rapper was saying “ATtribute” (as in, he had strong attributes) or “atTRIBute” (as in, to whom do you attribute that quote?).

He uses the former pronunciation, but the word is meant to carry the latter meaning. Fortunately, that is all cleared up at the end of the track in a discussion between Frontalot and an unnamed inquisitor:

“Are you saying atTRIBute, or ATtribute?”

“Uh, ATribute, obviously,” Frontalot answers.

“Because it sort of comes off sounding like, A — because if you said atTRIBute, it’d be a verb not a nou — ”

“The words do whatever I tell them to do.”

This is the essence of what the Brooklyn, New York-based MC calls nerdcore hip-hop — a term he coined in 2000 to describe his brand of geek-oriented rap, which espouses brainy musings on technology, and skits like “The Tribulations of Muffy and Percival,” wherein a decidedly modern couple decide not to travel to the third world due to its “atrocious” 4G coverage.

Frontalot, also known as Damian Hess, began toying with desktop recording programs in 1999. A forward thinker (and a nerd), he posted the results of his audio experiments online right around the time Metallica started clamoring to have its songs taken down.

Back then Frontalot was a coder with a music hobby. Now, four albums later, he proudly calls himself a “professional rapper,” touring the country and playing at geeky events such as the Penny Arcade Expo, South by Southwest Interactive and BlizzCon.

MC Frontalot proves he has earned the right to that title with Zero Day, set to drop Tuesday. The record is his strongest effort to date, with thoroughly solid production — blippy 8-bit clips and computerized beeps serve to underscore Frontalot’s nerdy eccentricities on many tracks, while live drums, saxophone, trembling organ and good, old-fashioned record-scratching come together to form more traditional hip-hop phrases any conscientious rap fan can appreciate, nerd or not.

Flexing his geek cred, Frontalot also scores some choice guest appearances: Former Soul Coughing front man Mike Doughty lends vocals to “Your Friend Wil,” a tribute to Wil Wheaton, who played Wesley Crusher on Star Trek: The Next Generation.

The Daily Show contributor and PC incarnate John Hodgman offers some not-so-sage wisdom on “Question and Answer Time,” the album’s funniest skit. (Although the track shines for its star power and wit, it sounds like it was recorded in a bathroom using a handheld recorder. Given Zero Day‘s overall production quality, this shortfall is perplexing.)

As one might expect, Frontalot doesn’t branch out much on Zero Day. In fact, in many ways, his lyrical reflections remain more within the nerd box than on previous records. Those who appreciate Frontalot’s grammatical gymnastics, but don’t identify with his geeky aesthetic, may be driven away by this aspect of the record.

Fans, however, will likely see his honing of subject matter as a move toward maturity. Where MC Frontalot used to spit rhymes about a “Speed Queen” chopping up Ritalin lines, or burning some “Mountain Kind,” he now laments breaking off his relationship with corn syrup and eating pills that “mitigate triglycerides.”

He also uses his nerdy filter to distill social commentary. In “First World Problem,” Frontalot picks up where Muffy and Percival left off, listing a slew of grievances many of us must deal with on a daily basis: “No bubbles in the soda cup/App crashed when you load it up/Phone’s OS is out of date/Colors won’t calibrate.”

Balancing humor with meaningful observations on the state of the Western world adds depth to Frontalot’s work and is worthy of note. In doing so, the nerdcore pioneer makes a case for being more than a niche peculiarity, although that is exactly what he is likely to remain.

WIRED Innovative flow appeals to hip-hop purists and nerds alike.

TIRED Poor audio quality of banter between Frontalot and Hodgeman during album’s wittiest exchange; nerdy shtick at times feels like, well, a shtick.